LinguaSwap Create free account

Spanish slang and idiom vocabulary: 448 words

Sound like a local — common colloquial words and idioms with their natural equivalents in each language (English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese). This page lists 40 of them with their Spanish translations, then lets you practise the full set in either direction with spaced repetition.

English to Spanish: the first 40 words

EnglishSpanishNotes
coolguayImpressively good, stylish or admirable in casual praise. Not about low temperature.
awesomegenialExtremely good, said with enthusiasm about something you really like.
guy, dudetíoInformal for a person; friendly, not insulting in casual speech.
to hang outpasar el ratoTo spend unhurried free time somewhere, usually with friends.
to chill, relaxrelajarseTo let go of tension and rest calmly after effort or stress.
No way!¡Ni hablar!An emphatic refusal meaning absolutely not, under no circumstances.
Awesome, right?¿A que mola?A casual tag inviting the listener to agree that something is great.
It's a piece of cakees pan comidoIdiom: very easy to do, not about actual cake.
It's raining cats and dogsestá lloviendo a cántarosIdiom: heavy rain, not animals falling.
to cost an arm and a legcostar un ojo de la caraIdiom: extremely expensive, not literal body parts.
to pull someone's legtomar el peloIdiom: to tease or joke with someone, not physical.
to be brokeestar sin blancaHaving no money, not damaged or injured.
Speak of the devilhablando del rey de RomaIdiom: person arrives just as you mention them.
not my cup of teano es lo míoIdiom: not something you like or enjoy.
to hit the nail on the headdar en el clavoIdiom: to say or do exactly the right thing.
Good luck!¡mucha suerte!Said before a performance or challenge.
little by littlepoco a pocoGradually, in small amounts or stages over time.
more or lessmás o menosApproximately, roughly true but not exactly.
What a mess!¡Qué lío!An exclamation about a scene of great disorder or muddle.
Are you kidding?¿En serio?Said in disbelief, asking whether the speaker is joking.
no worriestranquiA casual reassurance that everything is fine and nobody should fret.
awesome timeuna pasadaA hugely enjoyable stretch of fun.
to be fed upestar hartoVery annoyed or tired of something; impatient.
on the doten puntoExactly on time.
big deal, a lotun montónA very large amount or quantity of something.
to mess upmeter la pataTo blunder and spoil something through your own clumsiness.
step by steppaso a pasoProceeding one stage at a time in careful order.
It's worth itvale la penaSaid when the effort or cost is repaid by the result.
so-soasí asíNeither good nor bad, only middling.
to keep an eye onechar un ojoIdiom: to watch or monitor, not literal eye.
Get it?, Understood?¿Vale?A short question checking that the listener has grasped what you said.
Okay, alrightvaleA word expressing agreement or consent to what was proposed.
to be worth nothingno valer nadaTo have no value or usefulness whatsoever.
hurry up!¡date prisa!A command telling someone to move or act faster right now.
to be in a hurrytener prisaTo have too little time and need to act quickly.
for real, seriouslyen serioGenuinely and truly, without any joking.
That's lifeasí es la vidaA resigned remark that such unwelcome things simply happen.
Better late than nevermás vale tarde que nuncaA saying that doing something behind time beats not doing it at all.
little by little the bird builds its nestpoco a poco se llega lejosProverb: steady progress achieves goals over time.
to be on cloud nineestar en las nubesIdiom: extremely happy, not literally in sky.

408 more words in the full “Slang & Idioms” library, each aligned across seven languages and scheduled for you by spaced repetition. Add it to your account and start drilling English to Spanish in one click.

What to watch out for in Spanish

  • Accents count. Answers are graded accent-sensitively, so you need á é í ó ú ü ñ ¿ ¡ — LinguaSwap shows a one-tap keypad for them while you type.
  • 448 words carry a usage note in the full library, for the cases where a direct translation would mislead you.

Practise Spanish slang and idiom vocabulary

Words come back just before you would forget them, and every language direction is tracked separately.

Create free account Try the demo

The same topic in other languages

More Spanish vocabulary